


Local Talent

by Lapinou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Music, Eventual Smut, M/M, eventual OT4 - Freeform, so many AU sorry not sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:45:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8006212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapinou/pseuds/Lapinou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima is a college student working at a coffee shop and Kuroo is a popular singer who performs at his cafe ocassionally with two very attractive roommates. Eventual BokuAkaKuroTsuki starting as two couples.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The café was unusually busy that night, much to Tuskishima’s annoyance. Peak hours had long since come and gone but a steady rush of customers were still flowing into the store. It was a Thursday, the store’s weekly live music night when local musicians were invited to perform for about an hour before close, but Tsukishima had never seen this much of a crowd for the event before. Granted he had only started working there a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of the semester a couple of weeks ago, but this was still unusual. 

He turned to one of his supervisors, Sugawara, once there was finally a lull in arriving customers. He found him cleaning out one of the coffee machines in preparation for close like Tsukishima should have been doing as well if he wasn’t so damn busy serving all the customers. 

“What’s with this crowd?” He asked, making minimal effort to hide his frustration. A busy store during late hours meant he would have to stay longer past closing to finish cleaning and preparing for the next day, and Tsukishima was far from thrilled at that idea. It was proving hard enough to balance classes with the hours he already put into his job, the last thing he wanted was to stay later than usual. 

“Oh right this the first time you’ve been here when Kuroo is booked.” Sugawara replied. Tsukishima narrowed his eyes in confusion, he didn’t know if Sugawara expected that name to lead him to an automatic understanding, but it didn’t. He wasn’t familiar with this apparently very popular musician, whoever he was. “Kuroo Tetsuro, he’s a popular singer around here, he always attracts a good audience.” Sugawara explained. “You’ll definitely enjoy his performance.”

Well whoever this hotshot was he was definitely cutting it close to being late. Tsukishima went back to the register after that when he saw two more customers had wandered in. 

“Aw Kuroo isn’t here yet,” One of them, a boisterous guy with wild looking black and white streaked haired, whined to his companion as they made their way to the counter. 

“Is he ever early?” The other one replied sarcastically. He was smaller and much quieter compared to his friend, with a much more controlled looking head of dark hair. Both of them were quite attractive in their own separate ways, and Tsukishima remarked to himself that the two made quite the pair. 

“Yeah you’re right, but I just wanted to say hi before he started.” The loud one said with a sad puppy like frown.

“Bokuto we live with him.” The dark haired one reminded him, clearly incredulous. 

“I know but I haven’t seen him all day!” 

The two had made it up to the counter at this point so Tsukishima interrupted them for their order.

“Hi how are you.” He rattled off the words in that disinterested but polite customer service tone he had been perfecting.

The smaller of the two turned to face the counter and his gaze seemed to linger for a second on Tsukishima before looking over the menu on the wall behind him. Tsukishima wasn’t sure if he imagined it but he didn’t have long to mull it over before he had to take the customer’s order. 

“I’ll have a mint tea please.” Whatever he had been looking at in Tsukishima didn’t seem to affect him now, he turned to his friend, Bokuto, as Tsukishima now knew his name was. “Do you know what you want?”

“Hmm... A French vanilla coffee sounds good.” 

“Is caffeine really a good idea for you at this time of night?” the first boy asked skeptically.

“Fine.” Bokuto sighed out his defeat. “A decaf French vanilla please.” 

Tsukishima tendered their order and started making their drinks, but kept an ear on their conversation out of curiosity but also because Bokuto was still talking as loud as ever. 

“Last time you had coffee past seven you were bouncing off the walls all night.” He heard the brown haired boy say. Tsukishima just met them but could already imagine how that would be the case.

“Yeah ‘cause I had to stay up to study!” 

“Fine but you didn’t even get much studying done with all of that energy.” 

“Aww Akaashi why do you always have to be right.” Bokuto sounded defeated. 

“Here are your drinks.” Tsukishima interrupted and presented their cups to them in time to see a hint of a smug smile on the boy named Akaashi’s face. 

“Thanks!” Bokuto instantly cheered up and took both their drinks at once. He handed the second one to his friend who also thanked Tsukishima and gave a polite nod of his head.  
Tsukishima watched the pair as they walked over to the other side of the café and managed to find a seat amongst the other customers. 

It was about two minutes before performance time when the infamous Kuroo finally decided to show up. Tsukishima had at that point grown almost as curious as he was annoyed about just who this supposedly amazing singer was. Kuroo walked through the café door, guitar case in hand, and headed straight for the back of the café. The first thing Tsukishima noticed about the singer was his crazy head of hair that could give Bokuto’s a run for its money. It was jet black and asymmetrical with stray locks sticking up every which way that made it seem as though he had rolled out of bed and immediately hair sprayed the look in place. But he somehow pulled it off effortlessly, as the rest of his looks and style was the type of attractive that made Tsukishima’s little gay heart skip a beat. 

He tried not to stare too obviously as Kuroo made his way to the small staging area they had set up with a microphone and a stool. He wasted no time in getting his guitar out of its case and adjusting the mic to his height on the stool. 

“Hey, how is everyone tonight?” He asked into the mic as he began to check the tuning on his instrument. There were a bunch of responses from the audience including a very enthusiastic ‘we love you Kuroo!’ from one person, and Tsukishima would have bet money it that it was that Bokuto guy from before. A grin formed on Kuroo’s face at the reaction and it made Tsukishima’s cheeks flush. He turned his attention back down to the counter he was supposed to be cleaning to collect himself. 

Kuroo adjusted the capo on the neck of his guitar and strummed a few test chords before once again grabbing hold of the mic to speak into it. Tsukishima looked up again, and watched with interest. 

“Thanks for coming out tonight, I’ll get things started with a favorite of mine.” He said and turned his attention back to the guitar, jumping right into the opening of his first song. Tsukishima was transfixed by the long fingers that danced gracefully across the strings looking as elegant as it was skilled. Tsukishima was amazed at how easily he captivated the audience’s full attention from the first note. 

But as soon as Kuroo started to sing Tsukishima understood why so many people had showed up for his performance. He had a voice as trained as his fingers; it was silky but just the perfect amount of rough and sultry when it needed to be and it rang through the store so clearly Tsukishima doubted that the microphone set up in front of him was even needed. The low notes he hit resounded attractively with the chords he played and he was able to reach higher octaves with just as much ease and skill.

The more Tsukishima watched, the more he found himself drawn to Kuroo’s charm. He was captivatingly attractive in every way that reminded Tsukishima of how gay he was while simultaneously appealing to the music lover inside of him. It just wasn’t fair for it was all wrapped up in one person. Tsukishima wanted nothing to do with an attraction for a local hotshot with a voice that had a shot at going pro.  
Not to mention Kuroo had the sort of style that made Tsukishima question if he was gay or just a hipster, and he especially wanted nothing to do with feelings for a straight guy. 

Kuroo’s lineup consisted of acoustic covers of rock songs for the most part, although he ventured into pop songs and other genres. His jazzier covers were Tsukishima’s personal favorite; he thought the lower octaves and swing rhythm suited the singer’s voice well. The store would fill with applause at the end of every song. 

Tsukishima kept up an effort to get on with his closing tasks, but he worked at half his normal pace at best, too distracted by the on-going performance to be any sort productive. He cursed Kuroo and his talent for making him stay late, which he was now sure he would have to do. 

By the end of the first couple of songs Tsukishima was fully convinced that he would buy at least one copy of this guy’s CD if he had one. Sugawara, who had also been watching intently, came over to Tsukishima and leaned in to whisper to the taller boy. 

“Pretty amazing, huh?” he said in a knowing tone after having witnessed Tsukishima as he got sucked the singer’s allure like the rest of the audience. Tsukishima felt heat rise in his cheeks once again and he returned to brewing more iced coffee for the next morning without comment. 

______________________________________________

“Thanks for being a great audience guys, I’ll be back after a short break.” Kuroo announced before resting his guitar gently back into its case and hopping off his stool. Tsukishima watched curiously to see what he would do; usually performers would come up to get a drink during their break but others would just sit back and take a breather in one of the café chairs. He should have figured this singer in particular wouldn’t be the type to sit around quietly. 

Sure enough he went straight over to join those two customers from before, who Tsukishima remembered had mentioned something about living together. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Bokuto and Kuroo gave each other the kind of enthusiastic hug that would make you think they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. 

It was only about a minute or so before Kuroo looked over to the front of the store and locked eyes with Tsukishima who had become a little lax in his attempts at inconspicuous people watching. He looked down again quickly with renewed vigor at wiping down the espresso machine and when he dared a glance again, he saw the singer making his way towards the register with the traces of a grin still lingering on his face. 

Tsukishima put his cloth down and wiped his hands clean on his apron before going over to the register to help the person he had spent the last couple of seconds convincing himself was just another customer. 

“How can I help you.” Tsukishima greeted him simply. No comments on his performance, no gawking over his talent, just simple and straightforward employee to customer formality. But the customer on the other hand was determined to get personal. 

“You’re new here aren’t you? I don’t remember seeing you last time.” He said, leaning on the counter like he owned the place which annoyed Tsukishima to no end. He maintained steady eye contact with Tsukishima the whole time, which the barista was determined to return unfazed. 

“I’ve been here for a couple weeks. Can I get you anything?” Tsukishima pressed, not wanting to get any more involved with this person than he had to while at the same time being forced into basic politeness with his higher up coworkers within earshot. 

“Do you like it here? It’s one of my favorite places to play.” Kuroo looked around the café with admiration. 

“I like it. Do you want anything to drink?” He asked yet again. Kuroo laughed.

“Are you always this pushy with your customers?” 

“Are you always this chatty with your baristas?” 

“No, not all of them.” Kuroo replied with a smug grin. Tsukishima cursed to himself for letting it get to him. Yeah. He definitely had to be careful with this one. “I’ll have a water with lemon.” Kuroo finally returned to a normal customer dialogue and gave his order. Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed. 

“After all that and you’re only going to get a cup of water?” He spoke out before he could remember to hold his tongue. Luckily Kuroo seemed to find it amusing. 

“And a lemon.” Kuroo reminded him. 

“Coming right up.” Tsukishima replied with just a hint of venom in his tone. He could feel Kuroo watching him, probably still sporting that annoying grin, as he poured some water and ice into a cup and added a lemon slice. He maintained his composure with practiced discipline as he turned back to hand the cup to Kuroo, who had indeed been watching the whole time. 

“Enjoy.” Tsukishima said, his disinterested tone contradicting the sentiment. 

“Thanks, hope you enjoy the rest of my show.” Kuroo countered and went back to spend the rest of his break with his friends who were waiting for him.

Kuroo played a few more songs after he returned from his break; he wrapped up the night with “a request from one of his friends.” Bokuto cheered upon the announcement.  
There were quite a few people who stuck around afterward to chat with the musician as he packed up and helped put away the sound equipment. After having witnessed a glimpse of it for himself not long ago, Tsukishima figured part of his success was due to his smooth talking ways. A pretty face to match a pretty voice was always a good combination, and Tsukishima knew he wasn’t alone in that thinking.  
At any rate, Tsukishima made sure not to have any further interaction with him as, choosing an opportune moment to take care of something in the backroom when Kuroo and his friends passed by the counter on their way out. 

___________________________________________

It was a couple of minutes after closing by the time everyone in the crowd finally filtered out and Tsukishima was able to clear his head enough to get real work done. He estimated that still had about forty five minutes of clean up left before he could go home. Luckily Sugawara gave him permission to leave after a half an hour and said he would finish closing up for the night with their other coworker Daichi.  
Tsukishima made his way across campus back to his dorm with his headphones on and music playing like always and trying to think of anything other than Kuroo. There was a mountain of school work waiting for him when he got back, he had no time to waste by being distracted by singers with amazing voices and infuriatingly sexy grins. But it wasn’t much use; his thoughts kept drifting to the events of the night despite his efforts. 

It wasn’t that he had full blown feelings, Tsukishima wasn’t one of those people who believed in that “love at first sight” bullshit, but he could feel the butterflies in his stomach that served as the warning sign that something more serious than an aesthetic attraction could form. He spent the rest of his walk home determined to digest those damn butterflies. His efforts were pretty successful once he put himself in the mindset that he didn’t have time for the inevitably time consuming drama that surrounded a crush. Either way the one thing he couldn’t deny was his desire for Kuroo to back him into a wall and kiss him until he saw stars and his lungs screamed for air. But he figured he could make time for that if the opportunity ever arose. 

 

His roommate, Yamaguchi, was still awake and sitting at his desk doing homework when Tsukishima got back to their room. 

“Late night at work, Tuskki?” Yamaguchi asked. He had immediately put down his work and turned his attention to his roommate when he walked in. 

“Yeah.” Tsukishima sighed and sat down on his bed, glad to be off of his feet after hours of work and the walk home. “Do you know Kuroo Tetsurou?” he asked, not with the intention of seeking further information about him but simply because he wondered how well known he was.

“Kuroo, like the singer Kuroo? Yeah I know him! Well… I mean know of him. I follow him on Instagram and I’ve seen him perform once. He’s really good!” Yamaguchi answered enthusiastically. Apparently Tsukishima was one of the only people who was unfamiliar with the singer. “Was he playing at your café tonight?” 

“Yeah.” Tsukishima answered and sighed.

“Oh, lucky you!” 

“Yeah lucky me...” Tsukishima replied despondently to no one in particular. Yamaguchi got back to his work after that and Tsukishima did the same, only stopping for the night when his roommate went to bed and asked to turn the lights off. So he got ready for bed himself and settled down for the night by lazily scrolling through his phone and catching up on social media. 

His thumb hovered over the Instagram icon as he remembered what Yamaguchi had said before. Hesitantly he opened the app and searched Kuroo’s name. Sure enough the familiar face and iconic grin popped up at the top of the results. 

He paused for a moment before deciding not to make a big deal out of what he was doing, it was only for his music after all, and clicking on the account. Before anything else loaded he noticed Kuroo’s follower count was in the thousands. Figures. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and started scrolling through the pictures. He couldn’t stop himself from clicking on a couple of selfies and allowing himself at least a few seconds to appreciate Kuroo’s stupidly attractive face. But that dangerous grin stared right back at Tsukishima and made the butterflies resurface before he backed out of the pictures. A lot of the pictures were with the two friends Tsukishima recognized from before, many of them looking like their smaller dark haired friend had been dragged into the shot. 

The majority of the account consisted of video clips of him covering various songs, which was what Tsukishima previously decided he was there for, so he plugged in his headphones to listen to some. He clicked one on at random and Kuroo’s silky smooth voice filled his head again. It was a more intimate listening experience now that the sound was going from the headphones directly to his ears and the sound quality was decent but it didn’t do his voice as much justice as it deserved. None the less it was good enough that his talent was able to shine through and Tsukishima enjoyed listening.  
He got through a few songs before his eyelids grew dangerously heavy and he could barely keep them open any longer. So he turned his phone off, refusing to fall asleep to some guys’ voice like a lullaby for some dumb lovesick school, girl, and sleep claimed him quickly after. 

________________________________________________

School work swamped him for the rest of the week. But he didn’t mind, seeing as dedicating himself to preparing for his upcoming exams provided plenty of distractions to keep his mind busy. He checked the café schedule during his next day at work to see who would be performing the next week and was both disappointed and relieved when Kuroo’s name wasn’t listed. 

It was a confusing set of emotions to both want to see someone and really not want to see them at the same time. Two conflicting realities that Tsukishima floated in the limbo of for a couple of days until that unforgettable bedhead waltzed into his store, this time as a regular customer, and his stomach did a flip out of excitement fueled adrenaline. 

Tsukishima was off the clock, but still stuck at work until the pouring rain stopped. An umbrella was one of the things that he had forgotten in the move. He watched as Sugawara took Kuroo’s order, and then turned his attention back to his phone before there was a chance for any awkward eye contact with the singer.

It was pretty useless though because it wasn’t long before a familiar voice invaded his personal space bubble. 

“We meet again.”

Tsukishima looked up to see Kuroo, drink in hand and smile on his face, standing next to his table. 

“So it seems.” Tsukishima responded curtly. 

“Are you on a break or something?” Kuroo leaned his hip against the edge of the table and took a casual sip of his drink. 

“I’m off. So if you’re here to ask me to restock the sugar packets the answer is no.” It was a relief to be off the clock and allowed to roll his usual snarky commentary off his tongue without thought like usual. 

Kuroo let out a laugh. 

“Do you take me for an asshole?” 

“Everyone is an asshole until proven otherwise. That’s how you survive these types of jobs.” 

“Fair enough. Well what’s your answer for if I came over to sit down here?” Kuroo asked. 

“Not preferable. But I can’t stop you.” 

“I’ll take it.” Kuroo accepted it as much as an invitation as he would get and pulled the unoccupied chair opposite Tsukishima out to take a seat. “So how’d you end up working here anyway? It doesn’t exactly seem like your cup of tea, no pun intended.” Except by the amused grin on his face, Tsukishima could tell the pun was in fact very intentional. 

Tsukishima scoffed. “You mean a job where I have to be nice to customers? Now who’s calling who an asshole? And that pun was awful by the way, this is a coffee house.” 

“Well if I knew your name I could call you something else.” Kuroo took another sip of his drink but the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile were still visible from the sides of the cup. “And the pun is valid, you guys also sell tea.” He added after he set his cup down.

Tsukishima was learning this guy was equal parts nerd as he was smooth talker apparently. 

“You mean we can’t both just call each other asshole?” He wasn’t even sure himself how sarcastic he was being. It took a second for him to think it over and weigh the danger of giving this smooth talking musician his name. He decided it was minimal. “It’s Tsukishima.” 

“Tsukishima.” Kuroo repeated and leaned back in his chair looking satisfied with himself as though getting Tsukishima to give his name was an accomplishment. “Well Tsukki—“

“Please don’t call me that.” Tsukishima was already regretting his previous decision. 

“—What are you doing sticking around here after work?” Kuroo simply continued like Tsukishima hadn’t interrupted him. 

“Does it concern you that much what I do in my free time?” Tsukishima crossed his arms. 

“I was going to offer you my umbrella because it seems like you need one.” Kuroo answered steadily. Damn he really could not faze this guy. It would almost be impressive if it wasn’t so annoying. Tsukishima looked absent mindedly out the window. His weather app said it wasn’t going to stop raining for a couple hours but he wasn’t keen on borrowing something of Kuroo’s he would need to return. 

“Fine.” Tsukishima replied after some consideration. 

“Good!” Kuroo stood up. “Let’s go.” He started digging around his backpack.

Tsukishima got his things together and started following Kuroo, he could feel Sugawara and Daichi staring holes in his back as he left the café. He would have a lot of questions to answer on his next day at work. 

Kuroo stopped to open his umbrella when they got outside.

“You coming?” Kuroo asked looking back at Tsukishima. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow.

“You mean we have to share your umbrella?” 

“Yes. I am always this kind.” Kuroo said, placing a hand over his heart dramatically. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. Why did he agree to this? 

Sharing an umbrella with Kuroo meant standing way closer than he would have liked. Tsukishima never liked sharing umbrellas in the first place mostly because he was always too tall for the other person and would end up with a face full of umbrella. But Kuroo was at a good enough height for it to be workable. Height wise at least. The two of them crammed under one tiny shelter resulted in shoulders and arms out in the open getting soaked. 

“So did you forget your umbrella in your room?” Kuroo asked.

“No, it never made it to my dorm.” Tsukishima answered truthfully. Kuroo laughed.

“It’s okay, I forgot my entire backpack my first semester. My mom had to mail it to me.” Kuroo paused to reflect on the memory. “That feels like forever ago.”

“Alright, Oldman. What year are you?” Tsukishima asked. After a couple of weeks of the typical getting to know you small talk, Tsukishima was more than tired of exchanging names, years, majors and a fun fact to everyone he met. It was never fun to begin with and it was only growing more annoying. But here he was, actually interested in all of those details about this person he was sharing an umbrella with. 

“Junior. You’re a freshman aren’t you?” 

“Yeah.” Tsukishima wasn’t sure if he should be insulted by that.

“Thought so, I don’t remember seeing you around before.” 

“You’re trying to tell me you know everyone on campus?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. Honestly it didn’t seem out of character for him, but there were tons of students that went to this school, too many for him to possibly know everyone.

“For the most part yeah.” 

“Sounds like bullshit to me.” 

“Hey! I’m serious! You’d be surprised how many faces you recognize just from seeing them around campus. Especially the cute ones.” Kuroo’s short burst of defensiveness faded when he admitted the second part. Tsukishima felt the color that filled his cheeks. What was that supposed to mean. Was Kuroo grouping him in with the “cute ones?”

Tsukishima cursed at himself. Walking home sharing an umbrella with the person you’re trying not to fall for was definitely not a smart move. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and collect himself. 

“I would test you but no one else is dumb enough to go out in this storm.” Tsukishima said putting emphasis on ‘dumb.’ The rain had started to pick up since they left and thunder rumbled threateningly in  
the distance. 

“You’re right, it is getting pretty bad. My place is just up ahead, you should come in and chill until it passes.” Kuroo offered casually. Tsukishima immediate reaction was to refuse, but not accepting the offer meant walking the rest of the 10 minutes back to his dorm through the storm. Even if Kuroo was to lend him the umbrella there was still the very real possibility that it could start seriously lightning out any minute. Besides, on a side note he remembered Kuroo had two very attractive roommates. 

“You can stay for some dinner.” Kuroo added to sweeten the pot. “I’m sure you’re tired of dining hall food, and I make a mean mac and cheese.” 

“I’m pretty sure mac and cheese isn’t considered a step above dining hall food.” 

“Oh but you’ve never had my mac and cheese.” 

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. 

“My apartment is right down here, what do you say?” Kuroo slowed his pace, waiting for Tsukishima’s answer before starting down a side road away from main campus. 

“Fine.” Tsukishima agreed despite every logical thought that tried to convince him that having dinner the guy you’re trying not to fall for make you dinner at his house was a bad idea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukki meets Akaashi and Bokuto and more plot is revealed over dinner! Kuroo continues to challenge Tsukki's introverted ways with a proposition that Tsukki isn't sure if he'll accept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being such a slow writer! School and cosplay took over my life for a while. I hope you stick with me and enjoy Local Talent.

Kuroo’s apartment was pretty much what Tsukishima expected a college student’s off-campus housing to look like. The front door led right into the living room which was probably the largest room in the place, with a couple of second hand couches, Bokuto sitting on one of them, and surprisingly nice TV set up. 

“Kuroo!!” Bokuto exclaimed. His eyes grew wide when he saw Tsukishima walk in behind his roommate. 

“Hey Bro,” Kuroo grinned. They were pretty soaked at that point. Both of their shoes had absorbed all of the water they could before it started to soak into their socks, one of Tsukishima’s least favorite feelings of all time, and half of their shirts were practically dripping. Kuroo closed the dripping wet umbrella and set it off to the side and then left his shoes next to it. Tsukishima followed. 

“Hey, you’re the guy from the coffee shop!” Bokuto looked excited. 

“I rescued him from the rain.” Kuroo sounded impressed with himself again. More like he was tricked into sharing an umbrella but who cared for details, right? Kuroo crashed down on the couch next to Bokuto and Tsukishima took a seat on the other unoccupied couch. 

“He still looks pretty wet for getting ‘rescued.’” Three heads turned around to see the owner of the voice who chimed in from the other side of the room. Akaashi was coming down the stairs laptop in hand. 

“It was more of a kidnapping in disguise.” Tsukishima added. Akaashi looked to Kuroo with eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“I said I’d make my famous mac and cheese.” 

“Yessssss.” Bokuto made a fist in victory. Akaashi laughed quietly and joined Tsukki on the couch.

“Well, welcome to our humble abode.” Kuroo spread his arms dramatically and then draped one on the top of the couch behind Bokuto.

“Is it just the three of you that live here?” Tsukishima asked. 

“Yup.” Kuroo answered. “Two love birds and their third wheel.” He put a hand on his chest. 

Love birds? Tuskishima looked over at Akaashi to find his cheeks a faint pink. So it was true then, Bokuto and Akaashi were dating. 

“Dude!” Bokuto seemed offended. “You’re more than a third wheel! You’re our third bro!” He leaned over and threw his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders. Tsukishima was lost on the meaning of a “third bro” but it didn’t look like something Kuroo was thrilled to be called. 

“I know, I know, that’s what I meant.” Kuroo laughed and moved his arm to rest across Bokuto’s back.

“I hope you don’t feel like a third wheel, Kuroo.” Akaashi chimed up, looking seriously over at Kuroo. 

“It was a joke you guys, don’t worry. You two are the best roommates.” 

Tsukishima had thought it was a simple question but it felt like he regrettably stumbled upon a sensitive topic. Having cleared up whatever concern he had with his roommate, Akaashi turned to Tsukishima.

“Bokuto and I are a couple, I hope that doesn’t… make you feel uncomfortable.” His stoic expression hinted at worried, which was dumb because the reveal had the exact opposite effect for Tsukishima. 

“Not at all.” Tuskishima replied without hesitation. He’d been over for a couple of minutes and they already hit some pretty deep topics. But was fine – great actually- because Tsukishima hated meaningless small talk. Akaashi smiled. 

“Oh good cause none of us are straight in this house.” Bokuto laughed. Tsukishima felt his heart skip a beat when he attributed that statement to the third roommate who merely sported a smirk from where he sat, apparently not bothered at all by being outed. Tsukki breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least he wouldn’t be falling for a straight guy. 

“Well then I’ll fit right in.” Tsukishima confessed. A laugh came from over on the other couch. 

“Oh ho, I know how to pick ‘em.” Kuroo seemed pleased. 

Tsukishima couldn't keep the confusion from showing on his face, but Kuroo offered no explanation. What the hell did that mean? Kuroo’s face was as casual and shameless as ever, unlike how you would expect someone to look after dropping a flirtatious line like that. Why was it that his unabashed honesty only confused Tsukishima more?

“Well I’ll start dinner now then.” Kuroo got up from the couch with no further comments.

“Make some for me!” Bokuto called after him as he made his way over to the kitchen. 

“You too, Akaashi?” Kuroo asked back while gathering up his ingredients. 

“You know I can’t turn down that offer.” Akaashi replied. 

With the spot next to him free, Bokuto looked over to Akaashi longingly and patted the couch cushion. His face lit up with happiness when Akaashi moved over to sit next to him and he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

In the twenty minutes or so minutes it took Kuroo to make dinner Tsukishima learned that Akaashi was studying art and a year younger than his third year roommates. Much to Akaashi’s embarrassment, Bokuto was more than happy to proudly show off some of his boyfriend’s work from pictures he had saved on his phone. Tsukishima was genuinely impressed with what he saw, Akaashi was talented in multiple media from sculpting to pastels but he mentioned his favorite was painting. 

“Wait, wait, this one is my favorite!” Bokuto exclaimed and searched his phone again. Tsukishima didn’t know it was possible for Bokuto to get more excited than he already was until he showed him a picture of an owl painted in flight. “It was my birthday present.” Bokuto continued.

“It’s gorgeous,” Tsukishima complimented and then added “You’re very talented, Akaashi.” Because his first compliment somehow felt more like he was praising Bokuto. 

“Isn’t he?!” Bokuto threw his arms around Akaashi into a death grip of a hug. 

“Thank you.” Akaashi replied with a smile on his face. 

“Hey guys, come get some!” Kuroo called over from the kitchen and ventured back over to the couch with his own bowl full. 

As it turns out Kuroo did make some damn good mac and cheese. Tsukishima’s mouth watered at the creamy blend of cheeses and garlic that worked wonders together.

“So Tsukki, how is it?” Kuroo asked as he eagerly watched Tsukishima taste his creation.

“It’s not bad I guess.” Tsukishima lied with a shrug if only to wipe that smug grin off Kuroo’s face. But it didn’t work, Kuroo looked just as pleased as if Tsukishima had given him a generous five star review. Tsukishima had never met someone who seemed so immune to his cut-throat sarcasm before. “Isn’t a different pasta usually used in dishes like this?” he critiqued, noting the farfalle. 

“Nahh, I use bowties because I’m classy like that.” Kuroo replied. 

Tsukishima looked incredulously over at Akaashi. 

“He’s being serious.” Akaashi confirmed without Tsukishima even needing to pose the question. He had an expression on his face like he had heard that joke one too many times, but Bokuto still seemed amused. Tsukishima shook his head. 

Dinner conversation continued without Tsukishima having much to add until Akaashi turned the conversation back to their guest. 

“So Tsukishima, what do you do other than work at the café?” Akaashi stuck up conversation. He was the only one who hadn’t taken to calling him by the nickname Kuroo started. But Tsukishima was at a loss for an answer to his question that wouldn’t make him come across as boring. What did he do with his life aside from working and studying? He liked to listen to music… but so did literally everyone else. He was interested in paleontology… but he couldn’t exactly say he spent his free time thinking about dinosaurs. The most interesting thing he could think of was…

“I play piano.” He finally answered. It was mostly true, although he had pretty much left the hobby behind since coming to college left him separated from his instrument. “I used to at least. I competed in high school.” 

An audible gasp escaped Bokuto’s lips and Kuroo perked up at the news as well. 

“You play piano? Are you a music major?!” Bokuto asked.

Tsukishima turned his gaze down to his meal. His focus of study was a sensitive topic. Throughout his childhood he had committed himself to learning piano, following closely in his older brother’s footsteps, determined to follow the passion throughout his schooling. The two used to bond over listening to and studying music until it became a thorn in their relationship after Akiteru was turned down from multiple university’s music programs and his discouragement left Tsukishima scarred as well. 

“No, I’m undecided.” Tsukishima replied simply.

“You should switch, I’m a music major! I’m no good at piano though. Trumpet is my main.” 

Tsukishima laughed quietly to himself because the instrument suited Bokuto’s boisterous personality perfectly. 

“You could give Bokuto some pointers.” Akaashi chimed in. 

“Yea and I’d love to hear you play.” Kuroo said. “We have a keyboard here actually, it never gets used. Here I’ll go get it!” Abandoning the rest of his dinner, Kuroo left the room to set up a full sized keyboard in the living room. Despite years of competing for judges and large audiences Tsukishima still felt nervous at the idea of playing for these three people alone in the intimate setting. Besides, it had been a couple of months since his fingers last made music, how rusty would he be? 

Kuroo practically dragged him over to the instrument and Tsukishima sighed as he sat in front of it while his audience of three leaned in with interest. It was a surprisingly nice keyboard to be owned by someone who admitted to never using it. He played a couple of notes to find the keys were weighted nicely mimicking a real stringed piano. Everyone was waiting expectantly so he sucked it up and started the beginning of the last piece he had competed with in high school. 

Once his fingers started playing he found it wasn’t hard as hard as he thought for the muscle memory to come back to him and flow into the music. He cursed at himself for the mistakes he made but it could hardly be avoided after being out of practice and playing on a new instrument.

“That was amazing!” Bokuto got up from the couch and started clapping, the other two joined in as well. Tsukishima’s cheeks flushed at the praise and he pushed his glasses up out of habit. 

“It wasn’t really, it was full of mistakes.” Tsukishima replied. He hadn’t even played the full piece, it was hardly impressive. 

“Tsukki, you’re great!” Kuroo came over and put an arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder. “Have you ever thought about performing?” 

“I haven’t.” Tsukishima answered, trying not to be annoyed by the contact. It was a lie though; there was a time when performing was all he thought about, before he gave up on that dream. But he had a feeling he was about to find out the reason behind Kuroo’s seemingly unusual enthusiasm about the situation. 

“You should! You should play with me sometime!” 

He was right. Tsukishima’s eyes widened. Perform with Kuroo? The Kuroo Tetsurou who had already established a sizeable fanbase for himself that even Tsukishima himself was a part of? The thought of adding to the music that would accompany Kuroo’s amazing voice was an overwhelming concept.

“I don’t have my own keyboard.” Tsukishima answered. It was his automatic reflex to refuse with whatever excuse he could think of. 

“You can use this one! You can come over and practice whenever you want. I can teach you the chords to my usual set list, and we can add whatever songs you want too.”

“I think the audience would love that.” Akaashi added. 

“I know I would!” Bokuto confirmed, enthusiastic as ever. 

“Please, Tsukki? You can try it just once if you want.” Kuroo, although no longer having his arm around Tsukishima, still kept a firm hold of him with his eyes that were intense and pleading and full of an excitement that Tsukishima wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to be the cause of. 

“Maybe.” Tsukishima remained noncommittal. Logistically he was already busy with work and school he didn’t know where he would fit in time for practice and performances… And to accept would mean he would get to spend a lot more time with Kuroo and he still wasn’t sure if that was a good idea either. 

Thankfully, Kuroo and the others seemed content enough with his answer. 

The rain was an unthreatening drizzle at that point, but all three of his new friends – as he now felt he could call them - insisted on him staying for a little longer because they finally had a fourth player for Mario Kart. It didn’t make sense to Tsukishima because you can play just fine with three people but he went along with it anyway, secretly happy for the excuse to stay a little longer.  
For someone who had not long ago bragged about being a gentleman, Kuroo and Bokuto sure did yell a lot of curse words back and forth at each other. In the end Kuroo kicked all of their asses which he accredited to years of getting his ass handed to him by a friend of his named Kenma. But Tsukishima had held his own pretty well which Akaashi and Bokuto were rather impressed about. 

After that it was getting late and he really couldn’t justify staying any longer. 

“Tsukki, come back soon!” Bokuto called out to him as he was leaving.

“Yeah don’t be a stranger.” Kuroo added. Both of them stood in the doorway and waved as Tsukishima walked out to the street and started home. Tsukishima waved a hand silently back in their direction. 

A lot had happened in one day that his mind mulled over on the walk back. He didn’t understand this new whirlwind of a person who came into his life and seemed surprisingly invested in getting to know him. Even more surprising that it was not only one, but three people who seemed to want his friendship. What a strange day.

Tsukishima finally checked his phone to find multiple unopened texts from Yamaguchi, all wondering where he was and if he would be home in time for dinner. A twinge of guilt knotted his stomach for leaving Yamaguchi alone at dinner; they always ate together whenever Tsukishima didn’t have work. He was so tired but he would definitely have some explaining to do when he got back. 

Yamaguchi’s concern was printed clearly across his face as Tsukishima entered their room. 

“Tsukki, you’re back! Did you have to work late?” he asked right away. 

Tsukishima put his bag down and collapsed onto his bed. 

“No,” he sighed. “I was invited to dinner with some friends. Sorry to leave you.” 

“Oh!” Yamaguchi seemed surprised and Tsukishima didn’t blame him, it wasn’t like him to have such prolonged interactions with people. “It’s okay though, I ate with some people on our floor.” Tsukishima wasn’t going to ask about it but one of them must have been cute because Yamaguchi was smiling to himself with a noticeable red tinting his freckle-spotted cheeks. 

Yamaguchi was quiet after that; he always respected Tsukki’s introverted personality that caused him to have a limited capacity for social interaction. And Tsukki appreciated the fact greatly, it was one of the reasons Tsukishima was able to be close friends with him. 

Sleep claimed him quickly that night despite best efforts to finish his assignments.  
______________________________________________________________________

Tsukishima was never one to browse his phone during class., but it wasn’t out of desire to be a teacher’s pet. He was simply always focused on learning the lesson being taught during class so he had less to do on his own time. But the next day in class his phone lit up with Facebook notifications; an unusual occurrence because he seldom used Facebook. He checked the app out of curiosity to find a friend request waiting from one “Kuroo Tetsuro” and his eyes widened. Tsukishima hadn’t even told him his first name, Kuroo must have searched around mutual friends to find him. Tsukishima sighed to himself before accepting the request. 

**Kuroo < Tsukki! You accepted my friend request!**

**Are you surprised…? > Tsukishima**

**Kuroo < Yea actually. A lil bit**

_Kuroo Tetsuro set Tsukishima Kei’s nickname to Coffee Boy_

**Kuroo < So did you think about my offer?**

_Coffee Boy set Kuroo Tetsuro’s nickname to That Annoying Customer_

**It’s been less than a day. > Coffee Boy**

That Annoying Customer < How much time do you need?

Tsukishima looked up from his phone and rested his chin in his hand. As annoyingly pushy as Kuroo was being, Tsukishima knew it was only his apprehension that was holding him back from agreeing, and that wasn’t something that would go away, at least not anytime soon. 

**I don’t know, more than a couple of hours?? I’m in class. > Coffee Boy **

**That Annoying Customer < Fiiiiine. Well we're having a party this Friday, I was gonna invite you. You should come over early, so we can just try playing together.**

Tsukishima’s eyes froze over the word party. He had never been to a college party before, and the idea of one was intimidating. Being in a house full of strangers all getting absurd levels of intoxicated was far from the way Tsukishima liked to spend his time. Not to mention Tuskshima assumed “we” to mean Kuroo and Bokuto together and he could only imagine the sort of chaos a party hosted by those two would result in.  
**Maybe. > Coffee Boy**

**That Annoying Customer < Just let me know! **

Kuroo sent some excited emojis along with his response. Tsukishima left the conversation at that and got back to concentrating on class.  
_________________________________________________________________________________

Tsukishima was right to guess the next time he saw Sugawara and Daichi would be an interrogation about his disappearance with Kuroo the previous day. He had just put his bag down and was tying his apron around his waist when Suga slid up next to him. 

“Hi, Tsukishima.” He greeted and Tsukishima could hear the grin on his face.

“Hi. Where do you need me?” 

“You can restock please. But first, I think you’ve made friends with one of our musicians, hmm?”

“If you’re referring to Kuroo, he just helped me out because I needed an umbrella.” 

“You could have asked one of us to lend you one, Daichi and I drive here and back anyway.” Suga pressed further. Tsukishima really wasn’t sure what he wanted to get out of him. He shrugged casually. 

“I didn’t think of it and Kuroo was being pushy.”

“That does sound like Kuroo.” Sugawara laughed. “Daichi and I both know him, he’s a good guy. You should be friends with him!” Tsukishima couldn’t help but compare Suga to a mother who was excited over her child getting along with the other kids. 

“Oh! Tsukishima. How’s Kuroo?” Daichi came into the back room at that point and joined Sugawara in smiling proudly if not somewhat mischievously at their coworker.  
“I’m going to refill the napkins.” Tsukishima deadpanned, grabbed the box of napkins, and left the room before his higher-ups could pester him further. 

Daichi and Sugawara meant no harm, and Tsukishima knew that their teasing was because of the fact that they felt an almost parental endearment for him as upperclassmen, but he didn’t like people getting involved in his business. Was it because Kuroo was somewhat of a celebrity in this café, this university even, that people would be so keen on knowing their relationship? Was it a bad idea then to go to a party where more people might see Kuroo hanging around him? 

Was he overthinking social situations like usual? Probably. 

Sighing and filling up the ice bin, he allowed the routine tasks of work to clear his mind until not much later when a familiar head of dark curls came into the café. Akaashi had the typical look of an art student now that Tsukishima took note of it. He had a casual but attractively put-together style, a messenger bag was slung over his shoulder and a sketch pad was tucked under his arm and his expression was stoic and borderline sleep deprived as usual. Tsukishima was almost surprised when they made eye contact and Akaashi smiled back at him. He watched casually as Suga took his order and Daichi made his drink before he chose a seat at the counter and took out his drawing supplies. 

Tsukishima kept sneaking glances over to Akaashi like a sight for sore eyes as he cleared off and wiped down tables. He fit the café aesthetic so well he looked like he belonged there, like everything was staged for a photo.

Finally he decided to take the opportunity to ask Akaashi about the party Kuroo mentioned. Akaashi was definitely the most rational of the three roommates, so Tsukishima figured he would be the best to ask.

“Hey, Akaashi.” Tsukishima greeted him and started to clear around where Akaashi sat like he actually needed to be conveniently next to him. He tried not to be rude and steal a glimpse of what Akaashi was drawing, but he was curious nonetheless. 

“Hi, Tsukishima.” Akaashi looked up from his drawing, he didn’t seem bothered by the interruption which Tsukishima was relieved about. 

“Are you.. going to be at that party on Friday?” Even the words felt foreign leaving Tsukishima’s mouth, he almost cringed but a smile formed on Akaashi’s face. 

“Oh good, Kuroo invited you already.” Akaashi replied. He sounded pleased and Tsukishima felt flattered that Akaashi seemed to want him there. “Yeah I’ll be there.” 

“They don’t get too crazy, do they?” 

Akaashi chuckled. “No, I make sure the trouble makers don’t do anything to get us evicted from our apartment.” 

Tsukishima nodded in reply as he wiped off the counter top more thoroughly than necessary. 

“You should come. It would be nice to have another level headed person around.” Akaashi continued. It was strange to Tsukishima how quickly the three roommates seemed to have taken a liking to him. He didn’t understand it, but something about them made him want to take the ball and run with it. So he did.

“I think I will.” Tsukishima agreed, his mind suddenly made up. 

“I’ll see you then.” 

“Yeah.” Tsukishima grabbed his things and left Akaashi to his drawing. He went straight to the back room to send Kuroo a message before he changed his mind. 

**What time should I get there Friday? > Coffee Boy**

**That Annoying Customer < 6:30, we’ll practice ;3**

**Okay. > Coffee Boy**

With a steadfast exhale Tsukishima got back to work and wondered what he was getting himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Find me on tumblr at ritzypotato, I'd love to hear from people and feel free to bug me about updating tbh.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first chapter fic, thank you for reading!! I will do my best with updating ^^"


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